"Prima Facie Insulting SC/ST Communities":Delhi High Court Upholds Order For Registering FIR For Caste-Based Questions In Recruitment Exam By DSSSB

Holding that caste-based questions put in the primary teachers' recruitment exams conducted by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) were prima facie intentionally insulting, or intimidating, with a view to insult members of specific castes, the Delhi High Court today upheld a trial court order directing for the registration of an FIR against unknown offenders under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,1989.

The questions which the Delhi High Court held as being prima facie insulting were included in question papers of the Primary Teachers' Recruitment examinations held on Oct 13, 2018 and Aug 18, 2019, which are conducted by the DSSSB.

The court, however, said that whether the DSSSB was infact aware of the contents of the question papers set or not, is a matter which can be ascertained only through investigation, and therefore the question of invocation of S.197 of the CrPC, 1973, would only be considered after the stage of investigation is over, as to who are the persons involved in the commission of the offense.

Noting this, the court stayed the operation of the Trial Court's observations to the extent that they stated that the complaint "discloses commission of various cognizable offences committed by the respondent/DSSSB, i.e., the petitioner herein."

It added that the stay to that extent, however, "does not amount to an expression on the aspect as to whether or not the DSSSB had committed any offence or not," and that the contention regarding the DSSSB's vicarious liability qua the two offences can also only be determined upon completion of investigation.

The court also remarked that the DSSSB's contention, that it "leaves the questions to the wisdom of the paper setters for such important exams...and leaves the question set wholly to the domain and expertise of the paper setters, prima facie does not appeal to a prudent person," and that "if a fact, the same can only be determined on investigation..."

Delivering the verdict, the vacation bench of Justice Anu Malhotra held that, "The factum that both these castes (that were mentioned in the question papers) fall within the domain of the Scheduled Castes as in terms of the Constitution Scheduled Castes Order 1950 per se does not permit user of the same in question papers by the DSSSB in terms of the spirit of the verdicts of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Swaran Singh, & Ors. V. State, as reiterated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Arumugam Servai V. State of Tamil Nadu."

Holding thus, the court dismissed the petition by the DSSSB challenging a the Feb 17 order of the trial court which had directed the lodging of an FIR against the offenders for the offences under the SC/ST Act, on a complaint by Adv. Satya Prakash Gautam.

The court also refused to accept the contention of DSSSB that the complainant doesn't fall within the ambit of S.2(ec) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, stating that in as much as he falls within the definition of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, "it cannot be said that there was no mental or emotional harm caused to him by reading the newspaper reports in relation to the question papers, set with prima facie casteist remarks, which were put forth in the public domain by an instrumentality of the State."

Click Here To Download/Read Judgment